Tall Trees, Yarm: Developer urged to finish landscaping work on new estate built 10 years ago

Stockton Council is “considering our next steps” after it said Avant Homes did not comply with a breach notice at their Tall Trees site in Yarm.

This comes after complaints that the homes were built years ago, but landscaping which was part of the original 2015 planning permission is still not done, despite residents having to pay a maintenance charge, leaving them with a “mud hole” and an overgrown “jungle”.

The council says Avant Homes has not complied with a planning condition to come up with “a detailed scheme for landscaping and tree and/or shrub planting and construction techniques for pits in hard surfacing and root barriers” to improve the appearance of the site near Worsall Road, Kirklevington.

The work was supposed to have been done in “the first planting and seeding season following the occupation of the buildings or the completion of the development”.

The notice to carry out landscaping, weeding, seeding, planting, replacing a tree and fitting vehicle barriers was meant to be complied with by the end of November, but the council says this has not yet happened.

Avant Homes says it carried out landscaping works “but certain areas have unfortunately failed” and they were working to resolve the “regrettable situation”.

Yarm Councillor Andrew Sherris said: “We’ve bent over backwards now for years and years and tried to give Avant the chance to put things right. Time and time again they promised action but failed to deliver.

“Why should residents be paying an exorbitant maintenance charge for a half-baked job that quite frankly is a mess? My patience with Avant has come to an end.

“If they don’t comply and come up with a timetable to address issues then court action is the next and final step. This should also send out a clear message to other developers dragging their feet over completing important landscaping conditions.”

He said tasks like tree planting, removal of stones and reseeding should have been done. Pointing to the overgrown area alongside Green Lane, he said: “All this is supposed to be maintained, properly weeded and landscaped. It’s a jungle.

“Residents have been paying for years for something that is still not complete. Some of the residents have been here seven or eight years. It’s depressing.”

He described a pond for drainage as a “mud pool”. Coun Sherris said: “It’s supposed to be graded, re-seeded, re-planted and there’s supposed to be some form of physical barriers on both sides as we’ve had problems with quad bikes charging around.

“We’ve got to hold them to account to put the barriers at either end. I was promised many many years ago. The trees are an absolute disgrace.”

Retired chartered engineer Peter Mitchell, 66, has lived on Ash Drive seven years and estimated he had been paying a £140 maintenance charge for about five of those, but he had been partially refunded as he was told the land was “unmaintainable” in its current state. He said weeds and rubble should have been cleared, and residents’ requests “did not result in any meaningful improvements”.

He said: “Avant have built very nice houses. To my recollection they finished five years ago. When they built the last house we started saying, ‘it’s reasonable to expect you to do the landscaping.”

However he said promises were not kept and “nothing of any consequence has been completed” despite reminders and assurances. He said: “We’re just saying, please deliver the plans you said you would. Please do what you said you’d do 10 years ago. We’ve been asking for the last five years.

“They’ve promised they’d come to us by the next planting season. I’m not sure when that is, I’m not sure what they’re waiting for.

“It’s a point of principle. People call that just a mud hole,” he added, gazing at the “pond” near his home. “This is supposed to be nice grass with wildflowers.

“It’s a waste of people’s time and effort. They have come back once or twice and done bits,” he said, but Coun Sherris said this was merely a “token gesture”.

“We’ve been polite and professional, we haven’t been disrespectful. I don’t want them to be prosecuted, I just want them to do what they should,” added Peter.

“It would be interested to have somebody from Avant come and talk to us and say, ‘This is our explanation, this is our apology.’

“It’s a lovely area, it’s beautiful, and that bit should be in-keeping with it. There should be some reasonable timeframe to do this rather than being open-ended.”

He added: “We await the decision of the council to take further legal action which seems the only means to ensure what Avant said they would do 10 years ago will get done.

He said he felt Avant had forgotten or ignored their outstanding obligation “as there is no direct profit involved”. He added: “That is not only disrespectful to those homeowners who bought their Avant Homes, but to Coun Sherris and to planning officers who have for the last five years engaged with Avant to complete the outstanding matters.

“The residents of the estate just want the landscaping completed to an acceptable standard as Avant promised 10 years ago.”

Councillor Richard Eglington, Stockton Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and housing, said: “We can confirm that a breach of condition notice has been served in relation to the Tall Trees site and this has not yet been complied with. We remain committed to making sure that the required landscaping is provided and are currently considering our next steps.”

An Avant Homes spokesperson said: “The landscaping works required by our planning permission were carried out, but certain areas have unfortunately failed. We are currently liaising with the local authority and are appointing a new contractor to ensure the landscaping can be resolved.

“This is a regrettable situation, and we would like to reassure residents we are seeking to achieve a prompt resolution to allow the remaining part of the site to be handed over.”